In a 2015 hunting report discussion, I noted that California banned mountain lion hunting through a voter initiative in 1990. As described in a book that tackles this topic (“The Beast in the Garden”), these big cats gradually became habituated to humans.
I follow reports of mountain lion encounters closely, especially as there have been encounters reported near the area in which I live. Therefore, after having taken up archery last year, the news that former NFL player Derek Wolfe successfully brought down a big male with a bow and arrow caught my interest.
NFL players are widely regarded as tough, but former defensive lineman Derek Wolfe showed just how fearless he is after he received a call asking if he wanted to stalk a mountain lion that was “wreaking havoc” in a Colorado neighborhood. Wolfe grabbed his bow and arrow and agreed to go find and eventually kill it.”Late Tuesday night I got a call from @huntnest to see if I wanted to stalk a giant Tom (male mountain lion) who has been wreaking havoc in a rural neighborhood,” Wolfe wrote on Instagram. “He had already killed two of her dogs and was living under her porch, nervous what he might do next.”Wolfe, who played eight seasons with the Denver Broncos and helped the team win Super Bowl 50, said that during his search he found a fresh mule deer the mountain lion had just killed. Wolfe admitted the experience was an exhausting one.
The hunt was legal.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife told the Denver Post Friday that Wolfe is a licensed hunter and is in good standing. The legal kill was reported to CPW and falls within mountain lion hunting season, which runs from Nov. 28, 2022, to March 31, 2023.
The hunt was intense.
Wolfe said he hiked over 9,600 feet before finally finding the big cat. Once he found it, he took out his weapon and killed the lion.”Exhausted, dehydrated, cramping I drew back my [bow] and sent an [arrow] through him,” Wolfe wrote. “Then I had to crawl backwards down the mountain with him to get him to the truck.”
There were the usual complaints from the environmental activists and PETA’s minions. However, many recognized the talent and skill in taking down this animal with a bow and arrow.
I want to focus on the positive comments, as it is quite possible this animal could have scaled up next to hunting small children.
For those who are complaining about Wolfe’s actions, perhaps a call to Colorado’s Parks and Wildlife would be in order…so the agency can explain why it ignored all the complaints about disappearing dogs and concerns expressed by the taxpayers in the impacted community. That’s the department that should have seen to relocating the cat.
Wolfe did the job the eco-activist bureaucrats chose not to do.
Thank you Derek Wolfe….what a great shot. I am going to double down on those archery lessons.
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